Catalog_of_adaptations_by_Ferruccio_Busoni

List of adaptations by Ferruccio Busoni

List of adaptations by Ferruccio Busoni

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The composer Ferruccio Busoni produced a large number of adaptations, transcriptions, and editions of works by other composers. He also wrote a number of cadenzas for compositions by other composers. This article presents a complete catalog of these works.

Ferruccio Busoni

For a complete list of original compositions see Catalog of original compositions by Ferruccio Busoni. For a more selective list of recorded works, see Ferruccio Busoni discography (as composer).

Cadenzas and transcriptions

The letters BV B (Busoni-Verzeichnis Bearbeitung [Busoni Catalog Adaptation]) followed by a number are used for the identification of Busoni's cadenzas and transcriptions.[1] The BV B numbers are based on the first comprehensive catalog of Busoni's works prepared by Kindermann. The letters KiV B are also sometimes used.[2] Although Kindermann himself did not specify any letter(s) to be used for referring to his catalog, he has agreed to the use of the abbreviation BV.[3] The dates of composition are from Kindermann[4] and Roberge.[5] For many transcriptions, the date of composition could not be ascertained, and a date "at the latest" was used. This date was determined by the date of publication or first performance, or by some other means. These dates are marked with an asterisk (＊).

Abbreviations: acc., according to; arr., arrangement; SB, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; B&H, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig (unless otherwise indicated); cat., catalog; ded., dedicated to; dur., duration; frag, fragment; fp, first performance; (score) or (♫), link to the score of Busoni's adaptation at the International Music Score Library Project; instr., instrumentation; MS, manuscript; pub., published; rev., revised; transcr., transcription or transcribed; unpub., unpublished.

Cadenzas (BV B 1 to 19)

  • Note: This section is not yet complete. The "Details" column needs additional work.
More information Cat. no., Composer ...

Transcriptions (BV B 20 to 115)

  • Note: This section is not yet complete. The "Details" column needs additional work.

These works are transcribed for piano solo, unless otherwise indicated.

More information Cat. no., Composer ...

Klavierübung

Main article: Klavierübung (Busoni)

The Klavierübung is a compilation of exercises, transcriptions, and original compositions by Busoni, with which he hoped to pass on his accumulated knowledge of keyboard technique. It was issued in five parts between 1918 and 1922, and a second edition was published posthumously in 1925.

Bach Editions

Main article: Bach-Busoni Editions

Busoni's Bach editions are a series of publications containing primarily transcriptions of keyboard music by Johann Sebastian Bach. They also include performance suggestions, practice exercises, musical analysis, an essay on the art of transcribing Bach's organ music for piano, an analysis of the fugue from Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' sonata, and other related material. The later editions also include free adaptations and original compositions by Busoni which are based on the music of Bach.

Liszt Editions

In the 1890s Busoni began to study Liszt's scores more intensively, including them more and more in his concert performances and collecting an extensive library of Liszt editions. By 1900 even Liszt's pupils were beginning to declare Busoni a true disciple. His reputation as a Liszt scholar and advocate grew to such an extent that in 1907 Busoni was invited to join the editorial board appointed to oversee to the publication of Liszt's collected works. Between 1901 and 1936 the Franz Liszt-Stiftung [Franz Liszt Foundation] supervised the publication (by Breitkopf & Härtel) of 34 volumes. Of these, Busoni edited three: II.1, II.2, and II.3. These three consist of the studies S.136–145 and S.420. The goal of the Liszt-Stiftung edition was scholarly, and Busoni adhered faithfully to this policy. Only in Volume II.1 did he even include any ossias, each labelled with "F.B." in small print.[22]

Franz Liszt-Stiftung Edition

  • Franz Liszt Musikalische Werke. Herausgegeben von der Franz Liszt-Stiftung. II. Pianofortewerke. Etüden für Pianoforte zu zwei Händen. Bd. 1–3 [Franz Liszt Musical Works. Published by the Franz Liszt Foundation. Etudes for piano two hands. Vols. 1–3.]
•Note: The English titles listed under contents are from the original edition. The title information in parentheses is not part of the original title and is provided for reference only.
Volume II.1:
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel; n.d. (1910?); cat. no. F.L. 32-34; (10 pages foreword; 157 pages score).
•Note: Busoni wrote the foreword which is dated 1910.
•Contents:
Study in 12 exercises Op. 1 (first version of Transcendental Etudes, S.136)
12 great Studies (second version of Transcendental Etudes, S.137)
Mazeppa (first version, S.138)
Volume II.2:
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel; [1911]; cat. no. F.L. 35-36; (129 pages score; 2 pages of notes by Busoni).
•Contents:
Bravour-Studies (final version of Transcendental Etudes, S.139)
Great Fantasia di Bravura on Paganini's Campanella, Op. 2 (Grande Fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette, S.420)
Volume II.3:
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel; n.d. (1911?); cat. no. F.L. 37-43; (4 pages editor's note; 155 pages score).
•Note: The editor's note is dated December 1911.
•Contents:
Bravour-Studies after Paganini's Caprices (first version of Paganini Etudes, S.140)
Grand Etudes after Paganini (final versions, S.141)
Morceau de Salon, Etude of Perfection from the Method of Methods (early version of Ab Irato, S.142)
Ab Irato, Great Etude of Perfection (final version, S.143)
Three Concert Studies (S.144)
Gnome-Dance (No. 2 of S.145)
In the Woods (No. 1 of S.145)
•Ref: Kindermann, p. 467; Sitsky, pp. 215–216; Roberge, p. 63.

Paganini Etudes

  • Sechs Paganini Etüden für Klavier. Revidierte Ausgabe von Ferruccio Busoni [Six Paganini Etudes for Piano. Revised edition by Ferruccio Busoni]
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel; [1912]; cat. no. E.B. 484; (43 pages). Also published separately as cat. nos. 2551-56 (9, 8, 11, 4, 7, and 11 pages, respectively).
•Note: This scholarly edition of Liszt's definitive versions (S.141) is reprinted exactly as in Vol. II.3 of the Stiftung edition. These versions should not be confused with Busoni's concert arrangements of the same works in which Liszt's music has sometimes been significantly altered and which have been assigned the catalog numbers BV B 75 (No. 1), BV B 70 (No. 2), BV B 68 (No. 3), BV B 74 (No. 4), BV B 76 (No. 5), and BV B 67 (No. 6).
•Ref: Kindermann, p. 467; Sitsky, p. 216; Roberge, p. 63.

Selected Piano Works

  • Ausgewählte Klavierwerke aus den von der Franz Liszt-Stiftung herausgegebenen Musikalischen Werken Franz Liszts, herausgegeben von Ferruccio Busoni [Selected Piano Works from the Franz Liszt Musical Works published by the Franz Liszt Foundation, edited by Ferruccio Busoni]
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel; [1917]; cat. nos. E.B. 5011 (9 pages); 5013 (11 pages); 5017 (9 pages); 5019 (11 pages); 5022 (9 pages).
•Contents:
Abendklänge (Harmonies du soir, No. 11 of the final version of Transcendental Etudes, S.139)
La Campanella (Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp minor, S.141)
Gnomenreigen (Gnome-Dance, S.145)
Konzertetüde Nr. 3 in Des-Dur (Concert Etude No.3 in D-flat major, S.144)
Waldesrauschen (Forest Murmurs, No. 1 of Two Concert Studies, S.145)
•Ref: Kindermann, p. 467.

Dover reprints

The Searle numbers and other information following the page numbers are not part of the original Dover Contents, and are added here for reference.

  • Complete Etudes for Solo Piano, Series I: Including the Transcendental Etudes. Edited by Ferruccio Busoni
New York: Dover Publications, 1988. ISBN 0-486-25815-7
•Note: Reprint of Vol. II.1 and the first part of Vol. II.2 (S.139) of the Franz Liszt Stiftung edition.
•Contents:
Foreword, pp. v–xi. (by Ferruccio Busoni, Berlin, 1910; translated into English by Rosamond Ley)
Editorial Notes, pp. xiii–xv. (by Ferruccio Busoni; translated into English by Rosamond Ley)
Etude en 12 Exercises [Etude in 12 Exercises], Op. 1 (1826), pp. 1–33. (S.136) (score)
No. 1 in C Major, 1. No. 2 in A Minor, 3. No. 3 in F Major, 5. No. 4 in D Minor, 8. No. 5 in B-flat Major, 10. No. 6 in G Minor, 14. No. 7 in E-flat Major, 16. No. 8 in C Minor, 18. No.9 in A-flat Major, 21. No. 10 in F Minor, 24. No. 11 in D-flat Major, 27. No. 12 in B-flat Minor, 31.
12 Grandes Etudes [12 Large Etudes] (1837) (dedicated to Carl Czerny), pp. 34–149. (S.137) (score)
No. 1 in C Major, 34. No. 2 in A minor, 36. No. 3 in F Major, 41. No. 4 in D Minor, 46. No. 5 in B-flat Major, 58. No. 6 in G Minor, 68. No. 7 in E-flat Major, 78. No. 8 in C Minor, 88. No. 9 in A-flat Major, 105. No. 10 in F Minor, 116. No. 11 in D-flat Major, 128. No. 12 in B-flat Minor, 139.
Mazeppa (1840) (dedicated to Victor Hugo, pp. 150–147. (S.138) (score)
Etudes d'Exécution Transcendante [Etudes for Transcendental Technique, or Transcendental Etudes] (1851) (dedicated to Carl Czerny, pp. 158–255. (S.139) (score)
1: Preludio (C major), 158. 2: (A minor), 160. 3: Paysage [Landscape] (F Major), 165. 4: Mazeppa (D minor), 168. 5: Feux Follets [Will-o'-the-Wisp] (B-flat major), 181. 6: Vision (G minor), 190. 7: Eroica (E-flat major), 200. 8: Wilde Jagd [Wild Hunt] (C minor), 206. 9: Ricordanza [Remembrance] (A-flat major), 217. 10: (F minor), 228. 11: Harmonies du Soir [Evening Harmonies] (D-flat major), 238. 12: Chasse-Neige [Snow-Drifting Wind] (B-flat minor), 246.
  • Complete Etudes for Solo Piano, Series II: Including the Paganini Etudes and Concert Etudes. Edited by Ferruccio Busoni
New York: Dover Publications, 1988. ISBN 0-486-25816-5
•Note: Reprint of the second part of Vol. II.2 (S.420) and Vol. II.3 of the Franz Liszt Stiftung edition.
•Contents:
Editorial Notes, pp. v–vii. (by Ferruccio Busoni; translated into English by Rosamond Ley)
"Grande Fantaisie de Bravoure sur La Clochette de Paganini [Large Bravura Fantasy on Paganini's La Campanella], Op. 2 (1832)", pp. 1–30. (S.420) (score)
Etudes d'Exécution Transcendante d'après Paganini [Etudes for Transcendental Technique after Paganini] (1838) (dedicated to Clara Schumann), pp. 31–90. (S.140) (score)
Preludio, 31. 1 (G minor), 32. 2 (E-flat major), 43. 3: La Campanella (A-flat minor/major), 51. 4 (E major) Version I, 59; Version II, 65. 5: La Chasse [The Hunt] (E major), 72. 6: Theme and Variations (A minor), 81.
Grandes Etudes de Paganini [Paganini Etudes] (dedicated to Clara Schumann), pp. 91–132. (S.141) (score)
1 (G minor), 91. 2 (E-flat major), 99. 3: La Campanella (G-sharp minor), 106. 4 (E major), 115. 5: La Chasse (E major), 118. 6 (A minor), 123.
Morceau de Salon: Etude de Perfectionnement [Salon Piece: Finishing Etude] (1840), pp. 133–136. (S.142) (score)
Ab Irato: Grande Etude de Perfectionnement [Ab Irato: Large Finishing Etude] (1852), pp. 137–143. (S.143) (score)
Trois Etudes de Concert [Three Concert Etudes] (c. 1848) (dedicated to Eduard Liszt), pp. 143–168. (S.144) (score)
No. 1 in A-flat Major, 143. No. 2 in F Minor, 152. No. 3 in D-flat major, 160.
Two Concert Etudes (c. 1862–63) (dedicated to Dionys Pruckner), pp. 169–184. (S.145) (score)
Gnomenreigen [Dance of the Gnomes], 169. Waldesrauschen [Forest Rustling], 177.

Biographical notes

  • Eduard Liszt (1817–1879), the youngest son of Franz Liszt's grandfather and the stepbrother of Franz Liszt's father. Eduard handled Franz Liszt's business affairs for more than thirty years until Eduard's death in 1879.[23]
  • Rosamond Ley (1883–1969), was a pianist and writer on music. She translated Busoni's Letters to his Wife and The Essence of Music into English.[24]

Notes

* The date of composition could not be ascertained, and a date "at the latest" is used (Roberge, p. xix).

  1. [1]
    Busoni catalog in Roberge (1991), pp. 8–63.
  2. [2]
    For examples of the use of the letters KiV see the Musical Heritage Society web site (accessed 17 Mar 2009); and this Amazon.com product page (accessed 17 Mar 2009).
  3. [3]
    Letter dated 20 Jan 1981 to Roberge (pp. xix, xxviii)
  4. [4]
    Kindermann, pp. 405–459.
  5. [5]
    Roberge, pp. 47–62.
  6. [6]
    BV B 1: Two cadenzas for Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 (1st & 3rd movements)
    Pub: D. Rahter, Hamburg, 1891, No. 3000
            Muzgiz, Moscow, ca. 1960, plate 29666
    Ded: Safonov
    Free score
  7. [7]
    BV B 18: Cadenza for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503
    MS: SB339 (two sketch books of Mozart cadenzas)
            SB340 Cadenza del Pianoforte per il Concerto in Do magg.
    Pub: B&H, 1923, Klav. Bibl. 25 289
    Note: The most extensive and monumental of Busoni's Mozart candenzas, running to 10 pages, it incorporates the fugato from the fourth movement of the Jupiter symphony (also in C major) and continues into the orchestral tutti and to the end of the movement.
    Ref: Sitsky, pp. 252, 377; Roberge, p. 49; Beaumont (1987), p. 352.
  8. [8]
    BV B 19: Two cadenzas for the first and third movements of Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1
    MS: SB318 (sketch), SB319, and SB320. SB318 is in Busoni's hand, but the final versions are copies in an unknown hand (Sitsky, p. 376).
    Ded: Edmondo Allegra
  9. [9]
    BV B 45: Chaconne in D minor for violin, BWV 1004
    Instr: 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons; 2 horns, [?] tuba; strings
  10. [10]
    BV B 52: Fantasie über Motive aus (der Oper) "Der Barbier von Bagdad" for piano
    Comp: Dec 1886 (Beaumont)
    MS: G. Ricordi, Milan (acc. Beaumont; Sitsky does not include it in his list of autographs at G. Ricordi on p. 381).
    Pub: C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig, Nr. 2880
    Note: Beaumont includes this work in his list of original compositions and does not regard it as an adaptation.
    Ref: Dent, pp. 66–67; Sitsky, pp. 283–84, 369; Beaumont (1987), p. 24; Beaumont (1985), p. 366; Roberge, p. 54.
  11. [11]
    BV B 60: Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 20 for piano
    MS: SB228 (N. Mus. Nachl. 4, 87)
    MS Title: 20. Ungedruckte Ungar. Rhapsodie von Franz Liszt
    Note: Copy, with almost no editing, of no. 20 from the Magyar Rhapsodiak, Rhapsodies hongroise (S.242, no. 20); based on a manuscript copy in the Liszt Museum in Weimar in Joachim Raff's hand; the Liszt autograph is in the Archiv der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. Raff's copy is presently in the Nationale Forschungs- und Gedenkstatten der klassischen deutschen Literatur in Weimar (Ms 110, 12). At the time that Busoni copied it, the piece had not been published. He may have intended on publishing an edition, but later abandoned it. The work was eventually published: Universal Edition, Nov 1936, ed. by Dr. Octavian Beu (Sitsky, pp. 241–242). See also score
  12. [12]
    BV B 63: Liszt: Sonetto 104 di Petrarca for tenor and orchestra
    Pub: G. Schirmer, New York, 1911
    Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons; 2 horns, 3 trombones; tympani, harp; tenor; strings
    First performance: Berlin, Beethovensaal, 3 Jan 1908; Felix Senius, tenor; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Ferruccio Busoni, conductor
    Ded: Felix Senius
  13. [13]
    BV B 64: Liszt: Polonaise No. 2 in E major for piano
    Original title: Franz Liszt. Polonaise No. 2. E Dur. Nouvelle Edition, augmentée d'une cadence finale, par Ferruccio Busoni
    Note: Busoni's primary contribution, as the original title implies, was to replace Liszt's last 26 bars with a new 39-bar cadenza-finale "bristling with difficulties, but enormously effective and exciting, as anyone who has heard the piano roll played by Busoni can testify. There is no harmonic audacity in Busoni's cadenza; he remains within the stylistic language of the Polonaise, but the lightning leggiero runs, the brio staccato octaves in the left hand and the direction brilliantissimo are devices characteristic of Busoni's own piano writing, as well as blending with the Liszt romantic gesture." (Sitsky, pp. 236–237)
    Pub: Simrock, Berlin, 1909, No. 12 604
            Musical Scope Publishers, New York, 1975, ed. David Doscher (cadenza only)
    Ded: George Boyle
  14. [14]
    BV B 65: Liszt: Saint François d'Assise: La Prédication aux oiseaux
    Free score (Liszt)
  15. [15]
    BV B 66: Liszt: Fantasy on Two Motives from W. A. Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro"
    MS: SB274 Fantasie über Mozart's Figaro. Franz Liszt
    Pub: B&H, 1912, EB 3830
    Original title: Franz Liszt. Fantasie über zwei Motive aus W. A. Mozarts Die Hochzeit des Figaro. Nach dem fast vollendeten Originalmanuskript ergänzt und Moriz Rosenthal zugeeignet von Ferruccio Busoni
    Free score (Liszt-Busoni)
    Ded: Moriz Rosenthal
    See Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni
  16. [16]
    BV B 67: Liszt: Etude No. 6 (in A minor) after Paganini
    MS: SB278 Paganini-Liszt. Thema mit Variationen. Eine Transcrip. Studie
    Pub: B&H, 1914, EB 4360
            B&H, 1925, in Klavierübung in ten books, vol. 10 (see BV A  7)
    Title (1914): Paganini-Liszt Thema mit Variationen. Etüde No. 6. Eine Transkription-Studie von Ferrucio Busoni. Bearb. Ausgabe für Studium und Konzert.
    Ded: Ignaz Friedman
    Note: This transcription is more free than those of the other Paganini etudes; it is marked as a free arrangement in the Klavierübung edition.
    Free score
    Ref: Roberge, pp. 56–57; Sitsky, pp. 223–226, 374.
  17. [17]
    BV B 68: Liszt: Etude No. 3 "La Campanella" (in G-sharp minor) after Paganini
    Pub: B&H, 1916, EB 4839
            B&H, 1925, in Klavierübung in ten books, vol. 10 (see BV A  7)
            B&H, Wiesbaden, 1944
    Title (1916): Franz Liszt. La Campanella. Etüde nach Paganinis Rondo für Pianoforte. Bearbeitete Ausgabe für Studium und Konzert.
    Ded: Leopold Godowsky
    Note: The transcription of "La Campanella" is the most famous and most often played of the Paganini etude transcriptions by Busoni. Some of the changes he made to the Liszt original were drawn from the first (1832) version by Liszt (S.420).
    Free score
    Ref: Roberge, p. 57; Sitsky, pp. 219–220.
  18. [18]
    BV B 70: Liszt: Etude No. 2 (in E-flat major) after Paganini
    MS: SB302 Liszt-Busoni. Andantino capriccioso
    Pub: B&H, 1917, EB 4958
            B&H, 1925, in Klavierübung in ten books, vol. 10 (see BV A  7)
    Title (1917): Liszt-Busoni. Andantino capriccioso. Etüde Nr. 2. Nach Paganinis Capricen. Piano Solo. Bearb. Ausgabe für Studium und Konzert.
    Note: The first edition reproduces the Liszt original on two staves above the Busoni version. Busoni made several changes to heighten effectiveness. One alteration to an arpeggio passage is based on Liszt's earlier 1838 version (S.140). He also provides a new coda of only four measures, shorter than Liszt's original by five. In the Klavierübung edition the Liszt version is omitted.
    Free score
    Ref: Roberge, p. 57; Sitsky, pp. 217–219, 374.
  19. [19]
    BV B 71: Réminiscences de Don Juan for piano
    Pub: B&H, 1918, EB 4960
    Ded: Ernst Lochbrunner
    Free score
    Ref: Roberge, p. 57; Sitsky, pp. 230–232.
  20. [20]
    BV B 72: Totentanz
    Note: edition of Liszt's first version (21 Oct 1849)
    Pub: B&H, 1919, Part. B. 2483
    Ded: Bruno Schrader
  21. [21]
    BV B 107: Schumann Abendlied at clarinetquintet.web.unc.edu
    Published 1998 by Breitkopf & Härtel (edited by Joachim Draheim)
  22. [22]
    Sitsky, pp. 209–216.
  23. [23]
    Wikipedia article: Un Sospiro
  24. [24]
    Beaumont (1987), p. 124.

References
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